Dark, desolate and fantastical, The Purple Cloud was a pioneer in the genre of apocalyptic novels, and the first great science fiction work of the twentieth century. It inspired authors such as H. P. Lovecraft and Stephen King. The Purple Cloud tells the grandly bleak story of Adam Jeffson: the first man to reach the North Pole and the last man left alive on earth. A sweet-smelling, deadly cloud of poisonous gas has devastated the world, and as Jeffson travels the stricken globe in search of human life, he slowly succumbs to madness, and unleashes fire and destruction on his planet. John Sutherland's introduction discusses M. P. Shiel's dissolute life, the originality of his book and its place within the context of 'last man' novels. This edition also includes a chronology, notes and further reading.
Format: CONTRIBUTORS: M P Shiel, John SutherlandEAN: 9780141196428COUNTRY: United KingdomPAGES: WEIGHT: 258 gHEIGHT: 198 cm
Classic fiction: general and literary, Classic science fiction
Fantastic, weird, macabre...imaginative, fascinating, convincing, as some dreadful nightmare...a remarkable piece of work...head and shoulders above the average tale of fantastic adventure, Delivered with a skill and artistry falling little short of actual majesty, The first great science fiction novel of the science fiction century, One of the best last-man books, The Purple Cloud still surprises with its passionate despair and prescient scenes of mass extinction, motorcars, electrified billboards and telephone sex by undersea cable
M. P. Shiel (1865-1947) was born in Montserrat in the West Indies. At the age of fifteen he was crowned by his father 'King Felipe of Redonda', Redonda being a rocky islet in the Caribbean. In 1885, Shiel came to England and from 1895 onwards, he earned his living through writing, specializing in wildly imaginative science fiction with a sideline in detective novels. He had a tumultuous private life, fathering several children by different women, and in 1914 he was sentenced to sixteen months in Wormwood Scrubs for 'indecently assaulting and carnally knowing' his partner's twelve-year-old daughter. In his old age, he settled in a cottage in Sussex and became increasingly preoccupied with religious themes. Shiel died in 1947, and is today chiefly remembered for his novel The Purple Cloud (1901). John Sutherland is emeritus Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London. He has edited numerous titles for Penguin Classics and is the author of many works of literary criticism, biography and memoir.
Dark, desolate and fantastical, The Purple Cloud was a pioneer in the genre of apocalyptic novels, and the first great science fiction work of the twentieth century. It inspired authors such as H. P. Lovecraft and Stephen King. The Purple Cloud tells the grandly bleak story of Adam Jeffson: the first man to reach the North Pole and the last man left alive on earth. A sweet-smelling, deadly cloud of poisonous gas has devastated the world, and as Jeffson travels the stricken globe in search of human life, he slowly succumbs to madness, and unleashes fire and destruction on his planet. John Sutherland's introduction discusses M. P. Shiel's dissolute life, the originality of his book and its place within the context of 'last man' novels. This edition also includes a chronology, notes and further reading.
Format: CONTRIBUTORS: M P Shiel, John SutherlandEAN: 9780141196428COUNTRY: United KingdomPAGES: WEIGHT: 258 gHEIGHT: 198 cm
M. P. Shiel (1865-1947) was born in Montserrat in the West Indies. At the age of fifteen he was crowned by his father 'King Felipe of Redonda', Redonda being a rocky islet in the Caribbean. In 1885, Shiel came to England and from 1895 onwards, he earned his living through writing, specializing in wildly imaginative science fiction with a sideline in detective novels. He had a tumultuous private life, fathering several children by different women, and in 1914 he was sentenced to sixteen months in Wormwood Scrubs for 'indecently assaulting and carnally knowing' his partner's twelve-year-old daughter. In his old age, he settled in a cottage in Sussex and became increasingly preoccupied with religious themes. Shiel died in 1947, and is today chiefly remembered for his novel The Purple Cloud (1901). John Sutherland is emeritus Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London. He has edited numerous titles for Penguin Classics and is the author of many works of literary criticism, biography and memoir.
Die verhaal van die kasarm en die Calitze kom tot 'n mooi einde
Ek kan nie ’n boek summier toemaak nadat die slotsin geskryf is nie. Ek lees álles, tot by die outeursnotas en die bronnelys (gewoonlik gooi ek darem net vlugtig ’n oog oor die bonne!). Chanette Paul maak in die nota oor Maanschijnbaai 2, die verdere verhaal van Nan en Jeannie, die stelling: “Lesers moet my asseblief vergewe dat my verbeelding altyd die oorhand oor die werklikheid kry en verdigsel voorkeur bo feite.” (p.635) Ek wil daarby aanhaak en bieg dat ’n uitstekende verhoudingsroman soos hierdie tydelik die oorhand gekry het oor my traagheid om te lees oor reïnkarnasie en die esoteriese. Die klomp Calitzse het my tyd en aandag totaal gekaap.
Die skrywer wy die laaste bladsye aan ’n verduideliking oor hoe die Maanschijnbaai-tweeluik ontstaan het. Sy beweer dat die Calitze haar “onkant” betrap het. Sy wou ’n romanse skryf maar uiteindelik was die karakters so kompleks dat dit op twee dik boeke en ’n intense familiedrama uitgeloop het.
Van die onderskeie karakters raak diep waarhede kwyt wat die moeite werd is om te onderstreep en te onthou, soos Zach wat dit gehad het oor die risiko om iemand op ’n pedestal te plaas omdat jy daardeur die persoon ’n onreg aandoen. (p.539) En Nan, wat die hele klomp Calitze moes grootkry, se wyse raad: “Met eerlikheid, Jeannie, kom ’n mens baie verder as met opoffering. Met eerlikheid gee jy almal ’n regverdige kans. Opoffering beteken bloot jy doen iets teen jou sin omdat jy glo dit sal ander baat.” (p.613)
Maak seker dat jy genoeg tyd op hande het, dan lees jy hierdie tweeluik in volgorde, Jo & Sue, gevolg deur Nan & Jeannie. Dit is hersien en met splinternuwe, pragtige baadjies uitgegee deur Lapa Uitgewers.
A very practical approach and the tools to go along with it
Very useful. The book provides a structure and an approach that I would have been useful earlier in my investing. I like the five gates and in particular the attention to quality and management's capital allocation decisions. I will also apply the idea of the stewardship log to get more explicit on my investment theses. This is kind of the practical aspect of what I learned from the Psychology of Money.
the title ties in really nicley the more towards the end but the title for the book suits it real...
the book is very slow burn and takes a while for like captivating parts of the book .but the middle to the end the pace of the book is really nice the beginning is just repetitive and and trust the processes
Skuld en vergifnis word nie versuiker in hierdie jeugverhaal nie
Twee halwes maak ’n hele is die wenner van ’n jeugboekprys. Ek moes myself gedurig herinner wat die teikenmark nou eintlik is, want die sake wat aangeraak word, is geensins beperk tot jeugdige lesers nie. Die sterk newe-karakters dra daartoe by die selfs baie ouer lesers goed aanklank kan vind by die storielyn wat ontvou.
“Hulle sê as jy iemand vergewe, lig jy ’n vrag van daardie persoon se skouers af. Maar miskien is sommige dinge net te swaar om van iemand anders se skouers te lig?” (p.178) Baie aandag word gegee aan skuld en vergifnis, maar geen suikeromhulde kitsoplossings word aangebied nie. Dit sou die storie beslis vervlak het.
Na die aardskuddende ontdekking wat Lira gemaak het, gaan sy vir drie maande na ’n Griekse eiland en maak sy kennis met haar ander helfte, ’n halfsuster wat presies die teenoorgestelde is van haar eie ingetoë, overthinking self. Ek het daarvan gehou dat hulle, die verskille ten spyt, nie in heftige konflik was nie. Eerder besig om algaande te ontdek dat hulle by mekaar kan aanpas en albei sterker daardeur kan kom.
Marita van der Vyver is ’n waardige wenner van die Tafelberg Jeugboekprys en hierdie boek hoort beslis in van der Vyver versamelings. Dit is uitgegee deur Tafelberg, ’n druknaam van Jonathan Ball Uitgewers.
